


Out of Everyone in the Galaxy..

by ravenlowe



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Fluff, M/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 10:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4344779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenlowe/pseuds/ravenlowe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Force, and the Galaxy in whole, work in mysterious ways.  Sometimes it brings very different people together.  Sometimes, that's a good thing.</p><p>aka the Cullrian!SWTOR!AU that no one asked me to write, but I did it anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

____

 

“You could have had a seat on the dark council, but no, you wanted to continue your research, and I supported you!  I supported you, and it was never even about the bloody research at all.”

 

Dorian knows better than to flinch despite his father’s harsh words.  SHowing weakness would just be another sin to add to the list.

 

“No.  You stayed because you fancied yourself in love--WITH A SLAVE!”

 

That’s enough.  Halward can rant about missed opportunities all he wands, but how dare he belittle Dorian’s feelings?  Dorian might not be the newest member of the Dark council, but he knows what love feels like; at least he thinks he does.  “Fancied nothing!  I love him, father, and you can’t change that!  You can’t change  me. ”

 

“SILENCE!” Halward roars.  The windows rattle with the force of his anger, and Dorian knows he’s very close to pushing his father over the edge.  “Do you not realize what a laughing stock you’ve made of this family?  You’ve sullied yourself with the unworthy when you could have had greatness, and now, on top of that, you tell me you refuse to marry; to continue our great blood line?”

 

Dorian’s anger echoes his father’s and to their left an artifact shatters.  “I have no desire to bind myself and bed whatever woman you’ve chosen for me.  No woman at all!”

 

“Desire?  You don’t  desire?  This has nothing to do with desire!  This is your  duty .  This is why you were born!  What use are you to me now?”  He has to give his father credit.  The man does at least look upset, but if any of that upset were on Dorian’s behalf at all, they wouldn’t be having this conversation.

 

“None at all, I hope,” Dorian bites out as he puffs out his chest.

 

Halward won’t even look at him.  He shakes his head and turns his back to Dorian.  “You’re a disappointment to the Empire.  You’re a disappointment to the Sith, and you’re a disappointment to me.  Get out of my sight before I strike you down myself.”

 

“Gladly.”  Dorian holds his composure until he reaches the safety of his quarters.  Just when he thought Halward couldn’t hurt him anymore, his father proves him wrong once again.

 

____

  
  


Cullen stands at parade rest before the assembled Jedi Council and tries his best to remember what the Code says about fear and remaining calm.  It’s not easy when you’re staring at the unfriendly faces of the people that hold your future in their hands.

 

“Describe the chain of events to us again; from the beginning.”

 

He tries not to sigh.  This is the third time they’ve been through this and his story hasn’t changed.  “I arrived on the corvette class freighter, Kirkwall, as assigned.  We met with the shuttle in Balmorra’s orbit and the hand off was carried out without incident.  Master Stannard didn’t want to linger in orbit so we departed immediately.”

 

“And when did you notice something was amiss?”

 

“From the start, Master Stannard was convinced there were agents of the Empire mixed among the refugees.”  Cullen pauses to wet his lips.  His gaze drifts down to the floor.  “At the time, I supported her.  We monitored the refugees for suspicious behavior, and locked those she deemed dangerous in the brig.  We had locked up three refugees when Master Stannard found the artifact.”

 

“This is the artifact you say drove your superior and the ship’s crew to madness?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Yet somehow you remained uneffected?”

 

Cullen closes his eyes and shakes his head.  “No sir, I believe I was just as affected as everyone else.  How in my right mind could I have stood by while things got so horrible?”

 

His questioner is relentless.  “Perhaps you were mentally unstable from the start?  There was an incident, was there not, that led to your assignment on the Kirkwall to begin with?”

 

“Yes, there was.”

 

_______

 

“Do you have news for me?”

 

Dorian pauses outside his father’s office.  Halward has been watching him with a speculative eye for days now, and this might be Dorian’s chance to find out why.  He presses his back to the wall and masks his presence with the Force.  All of that research  wasn’t just about staying close to his lover.

 

“Yes, m’lord.  I’ve been looking into the..items you requested and I believe I’ve found some promising leads.”

 

Dorian can hear Halward sit back in his chair.  They both have the tendency to lounge when pleased.  “Very good.  What are the options you’ve come up with?”

 

“While there are several rituals that have the effect that you’re looking for, I have a contact in Imperial Intelligence who has offered an alternative route.  They’ve had interesting developments in the past few years.  The results tend to be more stable, and longer lasting.”

 

“And he wouldn’t remember?  We could choose what to change?”

 

The pieces come together and Dorian is  outraged.  His own words come back to haunt him.   You can’t change me.

 

It appears that Halward wants to try.  There are many things in the universe that are just outside of Dorian’s realm of knowledge, but he does know this.  He is not going to stay here and allow Halward to do this to him.  Dorian loves his father, and he thought that Halward loved him.  It seems that Dorian knows less than he thought.

 

There’s a temptation to storm into his father’s office and tell him that the jig is up, but Dorian is smarter than that.  To go inside is tantamount to suicide, and Dorian is far too pretty to die just yet.  He returns to his quarters instead.  He’ll leave tonight, with only the clothes on his back if he has to, but he’s not spending another night in his  betrayer’s household.

 

_______

 

Cullen looks up as the door to his  cell  chambers opens.  A woman steps through the doorway, and the lightsaber at her hip marks her as a Jedi, but she’s not dressed like any of the other masters he’s worked with.  There’s a cool confidence to her that he instantly likes despite himself.  She moves more like a soldier than a Jedi.  Cullen can appreciate that.

 

They take each others measures, until she breaks the silence and gets right to the point of her visit.  “Jedi Cullen Rutherford.  You’ve been transferred to my command.  Let’s go.”

 

That can’t be right.  Cullen blinks, then clamors to his feet.  “Just Cullen Rutherford.  Cullen.  Last I heard I’d been stripped of all rank and been listed as unfit to serve.”

 

The woman scoffs.  “Officially, that is still true, but I’ve read your files, and think otherwise.  I am giving you the chance to prove me right, all you have to do is take it.”

 

Cullen is suspicious.  Why shouldn’t he be?  In his experience things don’t come this easily.  “And you are?”

She blinks, and flushes.  For just a moment her cool, professional exterior is broken, and then it returns with a vengeance. “My name is Cassandra Pentaghast.  Officially, I am a Jedi consultant with the Republic Military.  Anything more will have to wait until after we have left the temple.”

 

“You use the word  officially rather often.”

 

“Do I?”  Cassandra huffs, impatient, and turns.  “Are you coming or not?”

 

Cullen goes.  What does he have to lose at this point? 

 

The inhibitor cuffs are heavy on his wrists.

 

_______

 

Dorian feels small.  He’s standing under the bright lights of Nar Shaddaa’s red light district.  He’s spent his last credit on a drink that is just as bright as the overhead lights and makes his head swim.

 

Hutt Space is a good place to disappear, but it’s still far too close to Imperial space for Dorian to feel settled.  He needs to get closer to the core, and soon.  Halward has connections that Dorian does not, and it’s only a matter of time before one of his agents finds Dorian here.

 

The problem is that Dorian is well and truly stuck-- or he’s just too drunk to be able to see a way out.  That’s also a possibility.

 

In one of the corner booths a twi'lek woman is laughing too loudly at a pitiful excuse of a joke told by a man trying far too hard to look the rogue.  She giggles and leans in close as she brushes her fingers over the pulse point in his neck.  Less than three minutes later, they’re standing and heading for the door.

 

It’s a shame, really.  The only way a man like that should be able to get a woman is if he paid for--- oh.

 

Dorian should be more disturbed by the path his throughs are taking.  His father’s voice is echoing in the back of his mind telling him he should have more pride, but the rumbling in Dorian’s stomach is louder.  The drink isn’t settling well, and he almost regrets buying it.  Almost.  Dorian has other options.  He  is Sith, but the more he thinks about it, the more he likes this plan.

 

If his father didn’t like the idea of Dorian  sullying himself with the slaves, what Dorian was about to do would drive him mad.

 

He downs the rest of his drink and takes a glance around the bar for someone who isn’t too offending to his sensibilities.  Just because Dorian is planning on prostituting himself, it doesn’t mean he can’t have standards.

 

There at the end of the bar is a man with a mass of brown hair and the bluest eyes Dorian has ever seen.  He’s clean, well dressed, and would stick out like a sore thumb, but he sits like he belongs and smiles like he owns the world.  He gazes back at Dorian and those bright blue eyes go half-lidded.  Perfect.

 

______

 

“Welcome to Haven.”

 

The ship that Cassandra leads him to isn’t what Cullen was expecting.  It’s not a standard Corellian Corvette, but a stock light freighter; a smuggler’s ship.  She’s a bit beat up, but well taken care of.  She’s someone’s home.

 

Cassandra leads Cullen through to the ship’s common area where the rest of the team is gathered.  Cullen tries not to worry, but that doesn’t stop his thumb from running over the comforting band of his force inhibitor cuff.  This is going to end in disaster.  Cullen is socially inept at best, and he’s not even at his best.

 

Despite his worries, there are only two other people waiting for them.

 

“I thought you said you had a team,” he questions before he can stop himself.

 

“We thought,” Cassandra drawls as she side-eyes him.  “That it would be best not to overwhelm you.  There are others, but they come and go.  Leliana and Josephine will be working with you the most.”

 

“Doing what?”

 

Cassandra doesn’t answer, and Cullen doesn’t ask again.  He still isn’t sure that he’s the right man for the job, but if it’s a way to make up for some of the things he’s done, he has to at least try.  Cassandra believes that he’s a good man; maybe someday Cullen will start to believe that again, himself.

 

“Cullen, meet Josephine Montilyet, on loan from the Diplomatic Corps, code name: Ambassador.  And Leliana, agent of the SIS, code name: Nightingale.  Together three of you will make up the administrative portion of our outfit.”

 

Cullen has so many questions that he stumbles over asking them.  What he ends up blurting out is, “We have code names?”

 

Leliana smiles while Josephine hides a giggle politely behind her hand.  “Of course we do, Commander.  Welcome to the Inquisition.”

 

________

 

Dorian runs into a familiar face before he can make it off Nar Shaddaa.

 

Alright, he’d gotten a bit distracted from the whole running away bit once he had a full belly.  Dorian’s surrounded by all of his vices at once, and he finds that he’s a little loathe to give it all up.

 

It hit him soon after his first..client left him in an empty bed just how alone in the galaxy he is.  For the first time in his life, he’s alone with little money, and no name to fall back on.  Perhaps, that’s why when he sees Felix in the market Dorian doesn’t do the smart thing and turn away.  Felix looks just as surprised to see Dorian as vice-versa.  The surprise turns to relief on Felix’s part, and Dorian soon finds himself being embraced.

 

He freezes, because while he and Felix have been as close as two sons of Sith lords can get, their relationship has never been very physical.  “It is good to see you, Dorian.  I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I’m glad for it.”

 

It’s then that Dorian notices how pale his friend is.  “Nevermind what I’m doing here, Felix.  What are  you doing here?”

 

Felix looks pained.  “It’s father.  He’s fallen in with some kind of  cult, and now he’s gone insane.”

 

“A cult?  Not the Revanites, is it?”  Worst kept secret in Kaas City.  Dorian has always looked up to Alexius, at times more than his own father.  Alexius never wanted to change him.

 

“No, this is something else.  Worse.  He’s dragged us out here to find some relic that the Hutts unearthed.  There’s no way that this ends well.”

 

Cults and relic hunts are practically a family pastime, but Dorian has never seen felix this way.  “Is there something I can do to help?”

 

Felix frowns.  “He won’t listen to me, but maybe you can get through to him.  They’re in the Nikto Sector.”

 

It does cross Dorian’s mind that this might be a trap, but this is  Felix.  Dorian is almost more comfortable calling him brother, than friend.  “Lead the way.”

 

____

 

Cullen has a bad feeling about this.

 

An explosion shakes the ship, and there’s no use trying to run anymore, they’re being boarded.  It makes no sense at all. What are the Sith doing this deep in Hutt Space, and why fire on a transport vessel?

 

Needless to say, Cullen’s first trip to Nar Shaddaa isn’t going well.

 

“Cheer up, Commander,” Ian, the newest recruit to the team, teases.  He’d gone from prisoner to trusted member of the command team in record time.  Cullen doesn’t mind.  Despite the holo they received from the man’s family, he’s turned out to be an able ally, and perhaps soon, a good leader; even if his aim still needs a lot of work.

 

“This is me being cheerful,” Cullen bites back as he fires a shot into the fray.  The hum of a lightsaber behind them is the only warning they get.  Both men twist to find a sith somehow, behind them.  It’s too late to run.  The sith clenches his fist, and Cullen’s air is cut off.

 

Fighting against the invisible grip at his throat is useless.  Cullen kicks, instead, and Ian, bright man that he is, follows his lead.  They manage to catch the Sith off guard, and he drops them.  Now, it’s time to run.

 

Cassandra had tried to take the inhibitor cuffs from Cullen.  Failing that, she’d tried to make him accept a new lightsaber.  Cullen had refused both, and gone into battle even though he’d known facing sith was a possibility.  He just wasn’t ready; he wasn’t sure that he would ever be.

 

“Duck!” a new voice cries out, and Cullen’s body reacts to the command.  He drops down just in time.  A red bladed saber arcs over his head and catches the sith’s blade before it can come down upon Cullen.  Cullen rolls out of the way and finds that..a second sith is his savior.  

 

“Alexius,” the newcomer calls.  “You need to stop this insanity!”

 

The onler man is surprised enough at the sound of his name that he steps back.  “Dorian, you don’t understand--”

 

“I understand that Felix is worried about you.”

 

They’re both distracted and Cullen begins to line up his shot when seemingly from nowhere, Ian slams what looks to be a tabletop into the back of the older sith’s head.  The sith crumples, and the remaining three of them can only stare at each other.

 

Cullen recovers from the surprise first and raises his blaster to aim at the second sith.  To his surprise the sith disengages his blade and raises his hands in surrender.  “Well.  Isn’t this awkward?  My name is Dorian Pavus, and considering that I just saved your lives, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t shoot me.  I’m too pretty to die.”

 

_______

 

Dorian manages to barter his way onto their ship with a bit of fast talking and suggestive leers.  The blond still seems suspicious, but the man that had been Dorian’s first  client seems to be the one calling the shots, and he vouches for Dorian. The memory of their night together works in his favor, it seems, and Dorian doesn’t really mind.

 

Whatever gets him off Nar Shaddaa without getting shot.

 

He really is fond of this jacket; he’d hate for it to be riddled with holes.

 

________

 

The next few weeks are turbulent ones.  They take the Sith-- Dorian, back to Haven.  Cassandra questions him.  Leliana questions him.  Ian takes him for drinks with Varric and the Bull.  They come back to the ship barely able to stand, and somehow it ends up to Cullen to get Dorian into his bunk.

 

“There’s something about you,” Dorian slurs as Cullen tries to get his boots off.  “Sooooomething that I can’t just put my finger on.”

 

“It’s my sunny disposition,” Cullen drawls as he wins the fight with Dorian’s boots.  “Why do you have to wear so many buckles anyway?”

 

“Sith dress code.”  Dorian’s asleep before Cullen can even get him horizontal.  He doesn’t know why he takes the time to tuck Dorian in properly, but he does.  Maybe it’s just the right thing to do.

 

Three days later they’re stranded on Tatooine, watching what remains of the Haven burn up as debris in the atmosphere.  Their home is gone, and Ian, who stayed aboard to distract the Imps from their escape pod is likely dead.

The Tatooine desert is just as harsh and unforgiving as Cullen remembers, and this time they have nothing in the way of equipment.  His skin is already bright red, and for once it has nothing to do with embarrassment.  They were woefully unprepared to evacuate the ship, or even be engaged in a firefight.  If the heat doesn’t kill them, Cullen will spend the rest of his life making sure this doesn’t happen again.

 

They survive long enough to make it to Anchorhead.  There’s not enough credits between them to get transport for all of them, but if they bunk in together, they have enough for rooms for a couple of nights.  The group is more than eager to share space for just a little bit longer if it means staying out of the sun.

 

Of course, there’s not enough water for them to clean up.

 

Cullen collapses face-first onto the bug ridden mattress.  He’ll take what he can get.  After a few moments a weight settles next to him, and a cool, wet, cloth is draped over the back of his sun-burned neck.  Cullen turns his head, to find Dorian sitting next to him with a small smile.  “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

 

That’s..something that Cullen never expected from a Sith.  Compassion.  He makes an affirmative noise, and ignores it when Dorian settles down to sleep next to him.  Funny, how they keep ending up together.  He’ll be mortified about it later, but for now Cullen is worn down enough to not care at all.

 

Besires, the weight at his side is kind of nice.  It doesn’t make sense, but Dorian seems to be leeching some of the heat that’s radiating from Cullen’s body away.  Safe; Cullen falls asleep.

 

_______

 

Dorian’s life with the Republic has certainly been more eventful than expected.  Some days he curses this rogue band of misfit operatives he’s fallen in with and others he can’t imagine living without them.

 

For instance, Commander Cullen is much better company than earlier expected.  A week spent in close quarters on Tatooine has revealed a side of the man that comes as a surprise to Dorian.  Despite his military bearing, he’s easily flustered but is still somehow in possession of the driest wit Dorian’s ever heard.  He’s also surprisingly good at dejarik.

 

There’s an old beat up board in the corner of the bar that they’ve faced off at many time while waiting for the Republic to care enough to send them a transport.  “Admit it, Commander, you’ve met your match.”

 

Cullen smirks and slouches back in his chair as he makes his move.  “Check again.  I believe that the game is mine.”

 

Smug is a good look on him, and Dorian has a hard time forcing his eyes to look at the board.  Oh, to lick that smirk right off those lips.  There is another unfortunate side effect to all the time they’ve been spending together; Dorian is utterly besotted.

 

It isn’t just lust, no matter how much Dorian fancies tracing the scar over the man’s lip.  Oh no, it’s something far more dangerous.  Genuine attachment.  Cullen is just so.. charming without even realizing that he’s doing so, and it’s driving Dorian to spare.

 

The worst part of it is that he has no idea if Cullen returns his regard at all.  If he’s noticed Dorian’s lingering stares, the small touches, or the way Dorian presses as close as possible during the nights they spend on that pale imitation of a mattress, Cullen hasn’t mentioned it.

 

“Dorian?”

 

Dorian blinks and looks up into Cullen’s amused, brown eyes.  He forces a smile onto his face and claps his hands on his knees.  “It seems you’re correct, Commander.  Well played!  Shall we go again?”

 

Cullen smiles, and it might be wishful thinking, but his eyes seem to drag downwards to where Dorian’s hands rest on his knees, then back upwards.  “It’s Cullen, and you’re on Sith.  I’ll even let you go first this time.”

 

“It’s  Dorian, and your charity is noted, but unneeded.  Make your move, Cullen.”

 

_________

 

In the end, it isn’t the Republic that comes for them, but Ian.  They’re in the bar discussing what their next move will be, as even the credits Varric and Josephine have won through gambling won’t last them here much longer, when Cassandra’s commlink hisses to life.

 

“How are you kids enjoying your vacation?”

 

“Ian, you stupid son of a Sith, how did you even survive that?” Varric laughs, once they’ve recovered from the shock.

 

Dorian huffs, “I feel like I should be offended at that,” but he’s smiling.  They’re all more than ready to get off this dried out husk of a planet.

 

They meet Ian in the spaceport and Cullen can’t help but stare in abject horror at the transport shuttle Ian expects them to board.  Beside him, Dorian seems to feel the same.  “Not that I’m not thrilled you’re alive, Trevelyan, but if you think I’m getting on that deathtrap, you've got another thing coming to you.  Does it even have a hyperdrive?”

 

Ian looks almost as bad as the ship does.  He’s pale and leaning back against the ship for what Cullen suspects is just as much for support as it is for style.  Still, he’s alive, and looking far too smug for someone that came to their rescue in that bucket of bolts.  “She doesn’t have to!  Our real ride is in orbit, so if you womp rats are done complaining about my heroic rescue, I have a date with a bacta tank.  Let’s get a move on.”

 

Dying in space is apparently now preferable to spending another moment on Tatooine, so they pile in as Ian slips into the pilot’s chair.  Dubious, Cassandra and Cullen pile in after him, but it seems that Ian has the ship well in hand.  That’s another new skill added to the arsenal of the Alderaanian noble.  

 

“How  did you survive?”

 

Ian shakes his head.  “It’s a long story, best saved to once we’re all settled.  The short of it, though, is the Sith took me alive.  There’s..well you’ll find it all out soon enough, but I escaped from their ship a couple of days later.”

 

“Then where are you…” Cassandra trails off as they break atmo, and a massive ship comes into view.  Cullen tenses, because it has all the bearings of a Sith Dreadnaught, but Ian is smiling and he sets the shuttle on a course towards its docking bay.

 

“Seeker, Commander, welcome to the Skyhold.”

 

Cullen is struck silent at the thought that this ship is going to be their new home.  She’s almost as beat up as the shuttle and shows obvious signs of battles past, but there’s still something about her that draws Cullen in.  There’s more to this ship than it seems, and he finds that he can’t quite wait to get aboard.

 

Cassandra is more of a pessimist.  “It’s going to take more than we have to fix up.”

 

“We’ll just do what we always do,” Cullen disagrees, making Ian smile.  “Make do with what we have.”

 

______

 

Skyhold is like a dream come true.  Not only is the ship massive, but it’s obviously ancient as well, and Dorian is going to uncover every secret it has--once he gets some sleep.  After months of sharing a bunk on the Haven, and a week and a half sharing a bed with the Commander, having his own quarters is somehow lonely.  Dorian is exhausted, but he’s tossed and turned between his sheets for the past hour and a half.  It’s a lost cause.

 

He rolls out of beds and takes to the hallways.  The ship is so massive he could walk for days, and not run into anyone, but of course that isn’t how it works out.  Dorian stumbles almost immediately into another person, who’s steadying hold is the only thing that keeps them both from tumbling over.

 

“You’re awfully accident prone, for a Sith.”  It’s the Commander’s amused voice that greets Dorian as he struggles to right himself.

 

He raises a brow, “And what would you know about it?”

 

Cullen shrugs, “I’ve been around the galaxy a few times.  You pick a few things up.”

 

Another attempt to know more about the man, thwarted.  Cullen keeps his past close to his chest, and Dorian supposes he can respect that, even as it drives him mad.  He draws himself out of Cullen’s hold and makes a show of brushing off his undershirt.  One thing the ship hadn’t come equipped with was clothing, and they were still stuck with what they’d been wearing when they escaped.  Dorian would gladly suck someone’s cock for a proper dressing gown.

 

He realizes he’s looking speculatively at Cullen’s groin.  This infatuation has really gone too far.

Cullen isn’t calling him on it, however.  “Having trouble sleeping?”

 

“It’s..quiet,” Dorian confesses as he pulls his gaze up to Cullen’s face.  He seems to be doing that a lot as of late, but Cullen isn’t looking at Dorian.  Well, he is.  His eyes appear to be narrowed down on one particular part of Dorian; his lips.  It’s like a reflex.  Dorian licks at his bottom lip, the small peak of tongue causes Cullen to flush, and Dorian’s eyes nearly cross with the realization.  “Forgive me if I’m not reading this correctly.”

 

He closes the space between them and slams their lips together.  It’s awkward at first.  Cullen freezes beneath him, and Dorian begins to think that he made a grave miscalculation.  It’s a pity, because Cullen tastes just as Dorian imagined him.  He begins to pull away, but it’s then that Cullen gets with the program, and returns the kiss with a ferocity that has Dorian mewling and shaking in the man’s embrace.

 

Imagine that!  Mewling, and shaking; him!

 

The kiss is such a sweet release from the weeks of mounting tension that Dorian loses track of his surroundings.  Who would have thought that all this passion was hidden behind that stuffy military exterior?  Dorian had hoped, but reality is beyond his expectations.

 

They pull apart, and Dorian is pinned between the ship’s hull and Cullen’s body.  It’s comfortable, and he’s loathe to give it up, but Cullen is turning red and looking at him with wide brown eyes.  “Maker,” Cullen curses as he starts to pull back.  “I was so relieved when Ian popped up because if I had to share that tiny bed with you one more night, I was going to embarrass myself horribly, and here I’ve gone and done it anyway.” 

 

“You haven’t embarrassed yourself,” Dorian does his best to reassure Cullen while trying to catch his breath.  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted for you to do that. How much I want you to do it again, preferably in my great big empty bed.”

 

Cullen’s nostrils flare, and while he looks hesitant, he doesn’t seem against the idea either.

 

Dorian presses on.  “It doesn’t have to mean anything that you don’t want it to, it’s just, I’ve come to admire you over the past few weeks, Commander, and, well, used to having you in my bed.  I would like it if you joined me in it tonight.”   And maybe forever.

 

There’s a moment of silence and then Cullen begins to look  relieved ?  He smiles at Dorian in a way, that does  not make Dorian’s heart skip a beat, and draws closer again.  “I couldn’t sleep either, and came looking for you.  It’s late, and maybe not the best time for talking, but maybe in the morning we have some things to discuss?”

 

It’s not what Dorian wanted, but it’s more than he had hope for.  “As long as you join me tonight.”

 

Cullen’s smile is breathtaking as he laughs.  “Yes, I’ll join you tonight.”

 

Well, then.  Dorian’s future looks bright for the first time in years.  He hooks his arm through Cullen’s and leads him back towards his bunk.  It’s not perfect, yet, but Dorian will take what he can get, and then, maybe a little bit more after that.

 


	2. Bonus Scene

They were pinned in; surrounded.

Cullen shielded Dorian’s body down beneath his own as they both hid, hunkered down, behind a crate that wouldn’t last as cover forever. His blaster was gone. It had been fried early on by a lucky shot from one of the enemy troopers. Still, no matter how bad their situation looked, Cullen wasn’t about to give Dorian up. He would do whatever it took to get them both out alive. Whatever it took.

“Let me up you overgrown nerf!” Dorian hissed and pushed at Cullen’s bulk. “It’s merely a flesh wound, I can still fight.”

Cullen rolled his eyes and pushed Dorian back down. “Stay still. It’s a gut wound, and you’re giving away our position.”

“Pretty sure they know where we are, my help or no… Oaf.”

“Fair point.”

The troopers were closing in. Cullen could hear footsteps underneath the noise of blaster fire. That was it. They were out of time. He bowed his head and took a deep breath, as he followed the line of Dorian’s arm down to the Sith-turned-whatever’s hand.

Cullen didn’t want to do this. He’d cut his ties with the Order when they well..when they did what they did. There was no point dwelling on that anymore. The only fact that remained was that he had to get them out of here.

Dorian’s lightsaber felt heavy and unfamiliar in Cullen’s hand as he pulled it away and stood. The red light the blade cast was wrong, but the hum and the way the blade danced at Cullen’s command was like coming home, and the Force; after years of ignoring the call, the Force was like a siren’s song.

“Commander! That is not a–”

He doesn’t give Dorian time to finish. Cullen charges into the fray. He pushes and pulls with the Force. He dances through blaster bolts and cuts his way through the crowd. Cullen hates it, but he feels more alive than he has in years. He’s complete again, and it’s going to be even harder to give up a second time.

The fight was over within minutes.

Cullen stood, alone among the carnage in the middle of the room when something tinged at the edge of his senses. He spun around just in time for Dorian to slam their lips together. It was something so unexpected, and unthinkable after everything that just happened, that Cullen dropped the lightsaber in surprise.

Dorian smiled at Cullen as he pulled away, and slowly bent down to retrieve his weapon. “That might have been the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen you do, Commander. You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

His look and tone had Cullen mentally reciting the Code. He flushed and scratched a sudden itch on the back of his head. “It’s a long, complicated story.”

“You’ll have to tell it to me once you get me to a medic. The last thing I want is an ugly blaster scar, do you understand me?”

“Yes, Dorian. I get it. Let’s get out of here.” Cullen wrapped an arm around Dorian to help his friend along. It wasn’t far to the drop off point now, and hopefully Cassandra would be able to extract them without further incident.

“And just so you know, I could have handled all of that myself. Overgrown. Nerf.”

“Of course you could have.”

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't the writing project I was supposed to be working on, but sometimes you just go where the plot bunny takes you. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I can be found on tumblr @ mostlyharmlessgaming.


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